Grand Army of the Republic Monument

The Grand Army of the Republic consisted of Union veterans of the Civil War, and in 1900 the Wisconsin GAR lobbied the city to build a monument for their upcoming convention in Superior. At the intersection of Tower and Broadway, four curved steel shafts rose from each corner and met thirty-five feet above the street. A twenty-foot centerpiece sat atop the arch, and a thirty-six-foot flagpole topped that, creating a monument reaching ninety feet in the air. At one point the arch contained 220 light bulbs, which were lit just four hours a night (it cost $1 an hour to keep them lit). Unfortunately the arch rusted and was scrapped in 1921 (the mayor also wanted it gone…).